A Happy Hogwarts Holiday
by NovaArbella
Summary: It's Christmas time at Hogwarts! This collection will hold any Xmas stories I have laying around. Chapter one features our favorite twins. Chapter two stars everyone's favorite snarky professor.
1. Around the Corners at Christmas

A Happy Hogwarts Holiday

or

Around the Corners at Christmas

"There's a whole case here somewhere, I know it." Fred Weasley whispered to his twin brother George. "I saw it two days ago."

"We weren't in here two days ago, you git." George whispered back, keeping an eye out for any house elves around. It was unusual to find the kitchens so empty.

"Well, you weren't. You wouldn't bloody wake up." Fred shot back.

"So you came without me?" George was astonished. "Blimey, Fred. I thought we were brothers!"

"Next time, wake up." Fred replied. "Now let's find it so we can nick it and get back upstairs to the party."

There was currently a Christmas party going on up in the Gryffindor common room and Fred and George had thought it would be corking if there was some butterbeer up there to aid in the merry festivities.

"Here it is." Fred said, his voice muffled because he was waist deep into a pantry closet. He pulled himself out, holding an entire case of butterbeer, and he and George crept back though the kitchens and out the portrait door.

They quietly passed the empty Great Hall, decorated with a dozen decorated Christmas trees, and made their way up the Grand Staircase which was draped with ropes of holly and fairy lights. The portraits on the walls charted their process with looks ranging from disapproval to delight and they'd made it up several more flights of stairs and down numerous halls and though one secret passage before they suddenly heard footsteps and wildly looked around for someplace to hide.

This particular hallway on the seventh floor had only a large blank stretch of wall across from a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Fred and George paced back and forth several times, unable to tell which end of the hallway the footsteps were echoing from. "We're going to get pinched for sure this time." George said.

"No, look." Fred exclaimed, pointing. "There's a door. I don't know how we missed it before." He pushed George over to it. "Open it up, I've got my hands full." He jostled the butterbeer.

George opened the door and they tumbled in, pressing their ears to the wood, hearing the familiar sound of Filch shuffling by, mumbling to himself about students out of bed. "That was close." George said, looking around and realizing they were in a broom closet. "I never knew this closet was here." They opened the door and peeked out, seeing an empty hall. "The coast is clear, let's go."

The twins crept out of the closet and started down the hall again. They hadn't gotten very far when they heard more footsteps. This time, the person walking down the hall was whistling a Christmas tune. They ducked into an empty classroom and peered out as Dumbledore made his way down the hall, whistling and hanging giant candy canes on all the doorknobs, before turning the corner and disappearing from sight. Amazed, they glanced at each other.

"You'd really never guess he's something like one hundred and fifty, would you?" George asked Fred, who shook his head with a grin. They were just about to leave the classroom when they heard yet another set of footsteps and stayed where they were. "Blimey, is there anyone not out in the halls tonight?" George whispered and Fred put a finger to his lips to silence him.

They watched as Professor Snape came stalking down the hall, vanishing all the candy canes that Dumbledore had just hung. "What a git!" Fred exclaimed as Snape's billowing cloak disappeared around the corner.

"Come on." George said as he stepped out into the halls again. "We'll have to go a different way." They made their way through the school with the butterbeer bottles clinking gently together. Fred veered off and used a hidden passage, George followed. They had just left the passage when Fred suddenly stopped dead, causing George to run into him. Before George could ask what was going on Fred began to rapidly back up, pushing George with him.

"What now?" George asked irritably and Fred just shook his head.

"If you didn't see it, you don't want to." He whispered. George raised his eyebrows, shuffled Fred out of the way, and peeked back out. Standing under a clump of mistletoe were Professor McGonagall, with a length of tinsel wrapped around her bun, and Filch. They were locked in a passionate embrace, sharing an even more passionate kiss.

"Oh, I'll see that every time I close my eyes from now till the day I die." George moaned as he pulled his head back and slumped into the wall.

"Don't say I didn't warn you, mate." Fred chuckled as they wandered off to find another route up to Gryffindor tower. They were sidetracked again by Peeves, who was bouncing through the halls dressed like Santa Claus, complete with a sack full of presents. Or so they first assumed. They found out rather quickly that the sack was actually full of Dungbombs. They ran, dodging bombs for quite some time before they were able to lose Peeves by ducking into the dungeons, slipping by the Bloody Baron, who Peeves didn't dare pass.

"Come on." Fred said, pushing the case of butterbeer into Georges hands. "There is that secret exit from the dungeons not too far from here.

"I know." George replied. "I'm the one who found it, remember?"

Fred snorted. "OK. Remember it like that, if you want."

George bumped him in the back with the case of butterbeer and he stumbled for a step or two, looking over his shoulder with a nasty glare. The torches on the walls burned red and green as they turned yet another corner and had to scramble back when they saw Lavender Brown and Parvati Patill standing in the chilly, dimly lit corridor.

"So that's where they went." George whispered. He'd noticed that they'd suddenly disappeared from the common room party right before he and Fred snuck out. "What in Merlin's name are they doing to Snape's door?"

Fred peeked out and watched for a minute. George could hear the girls whispering and giggling. "They're... decorating it, I think." Fred said as he pulled his head back. "Those two have always been a little off. Oh, slugs, they're coming this way now. They'll squeal if they see us and then it will be all over. Quick, go back."

They scurried away and just managed to squeeze around another corner before the girls scurried by. "Do you think he'll like it?" Lavender asked in a giggly whisper.

"I hope so." Parvati replied. "Do you think he'll know who did it?"

"I hope so!" Lavender quietly exclaimed and they dissolved into giggles again. The twins could hear them fade away as the girls made their way out of the dungeon.

"Those two are going to get caught for sure. Half the castle is out tonight." Fred muttered. "Come on, I want to see what they did to Snape's door." George sighed but followed him back down the hall.

They stared in dumbstruck horror. It was more like a demented Valentine than something Christmas like. The colors were appropriate for Christmas, but the number of hearts was obscene. "What is wrong with those two?" George asked in disbelief.

Fred didn't have time to answer. More footsteps could be heard echoing off the cold dungeon walls. "Oh, come on!" Fred exclaimed as he and George dashed a few feet down the hall and tucked themselves into an alcove, behind a suit of armor.

They'd just managed to squeeze themselves out of sight when Dumbledore came whistling around the corner with his wand out. He stopped in front of Snape's door and exclaimed to no one, "Oh no! Someone has gotten here first! Drat! Severus had so many secret admirers."

He studied the door for a minute before waving his wand and adding a few more bits of holly and some more hearts. "There. That's much better." He said brightly as he walked away with a bounce in his step.

Fred and George just stared at each other with open mouths. They had no words at all for the situation. Before they could collect themselves, Professor Snape stalked around the corner with his robes billowing out behind him. He stopped in front of his own door and exclaimed exasperatedly, "Who keeps doing this?!", before pulling out his wand and blasting the decorations all over the hallway.

They stifled laughter as Snape entered his rooms. Seconds later Dumbledore peeked his head around the corner again. Giggling to himself he snuck back up to Snape's door and waved his wand. New decorations blossomed, complete with a bag of lemon drops, which Dumbledore hung on the doorknob. He stepped back and studied the effects for a moment before leaving again, looking satisfied.

"Let's get out of here. I'm getting scarred for life tonight." George muttered as he and Fred unfolded themselves from behind the armor.

Fred agreed. "I'm almost afraid of what we're going to see next." He confessed as they crept out of the dungeons and back up into the warmer parts of the castle. As they passed by the Charms classroom they heard voices and quietly peeked in to see all the Hogwarts ghosts playing a game of strip poker. Nearly Headless Nick seemed to be losing rather badly as all they could see him wearing was the ruff that kept his head on his shoulders. The Fat Friar was down to his undershirt and not so tighty whiteys and old Professor Binns wore just his sweater vest and knickers.

"Does everyone go mad here on Christmas?" Fred asked quietly as George handed back the case of butterbeer and shook out his numb fingers.

"We really ought to stay at the school over the holidays more often." George commented as he peeked around another corner and beckoned Fred to follow. "We've got blackmail information out the ears tonight."

They passed through several more hallways without incident and thought that perhaps they were finally home free when they suddenly heard singing. It sounded like quite the crowd so they turned around and quickened their paces, trying to stay ahead of what sounded like Hagrid and a group of caroling house elves, all of whom Professor Flitwick was leading through the halls. "Very good!" Flitwick chirped. "Now, let's try The Twelve Days of Christmas." He hiccuped as the twins skittered around the corner and paused to look back, noticing that he was sharing a bottle of Firewhiskey with Hagrid, who was very red in the face in a jolly kind of way.

The group started the song, with Hagrid's booming bass taking center stage. Unfortunately no one seemed to know all the words, so the first day of Christmas came with a package in a pear tree, and the second day two purple gloves were received. Three French horns followed before the twins finally found a large floor to ceiling tapestry to hide behind to let the melodious group pass before they caught up and saw them. "FIVE GOLDEN RINGS!" Everyone shouted triumphantly as they passed.

"Everyone always gets the five golden rings." Fred commented as they emerged from behind the tapestry with dust in their fiery hair.

George sneezed in reply as they walked down the hall, the opposite way of the caroling group. "Let's just get back to the tower." He said, wiping his nose and ruffling dust from his hair. Fred wiggled his own nose to try to get some cobwebs off. George noticed and plucked them off and ruffled his hair for him, since his hands were full.

"At this rate we'll be wrinkled and gray as old Dumbles when we get back." Fred complained as they cautiously checked around corners.

"I feel a presence!" They heard a misty voice cry out from one of the empty classrooms, making them both jump in surprise. The butterbeer bottles clanged together loudly and George punched Fred in the shoulder and gave him a pointed look. Fred shrugged and shot back a what-do-you-want-me-to-do-about-it look and the butterbeers clanked again. "There it is again!" The voice exclaimed.

They looked at each other, then down at the butterbeer, then at the partially open door of the classroom, before peeking inside. Inside, Professor Trelawney was conversing with the blackboard, trying to convince it to write upon itself. "You must communicate in a way I can understand." She said mistily as she caressed the board.

Fred and George looked at each other again with identical grins as Fred shook the butterbeer bottles harder. "I hear you!" Trelawney exclaimed, raising her hands in the air and turning in a slow circle. The twins pulled back from the door and took no care to stop the bottles from clanking some more. "I don't understand!"

George grabbed two bottles from the case and clanked them together three times while stifling chuckles. Trelawney exclaimed from the classroom, "Three! Yes, I heard you. Three. Three what?"

Fred snorted out a laugh and whispered, "Come on, mate, we've got to go before someone who's not a looney hears us."

As if on cue, they hear the familiar sound of Filch's shuffling rushed footsteps. "I'm telling you, I heard something!" His voice exclaimed. Fred and George were just able to duck out of sight right as he came into view, his shirt un-tucked and his hair tousled like someone had been running their hands through it. At almost the precise moment Trelawney burst from the classroom and grabbed Filch's hand, surprising him.

"Did you hear it too?" She asked in an excited far away voice. "Perhaps you too have the Gift!"

"What are you talking about, you crazy bat?" Filch tried to pull his hand from Trelawney's grip. "Twern't spirits! It's students! Students out of bounds!"

Professor McGonagall hurried around the corner and over to the two. She seemed to be tucking her hair back up into it's customary bun. "Filch and McGonagall both look a right mess." Fred whispered as he passed the butterbeer to George. "You don't think that they were... you know... after that mistletoe kiss...?"

"Don't finish that thought." George shook his head vehemently as all three adults argued loudly about the reality of clanking sounds being spirits.

While they were distracted, Fred and George crept out of their hiding spot and scurried to the next hallway, about twenty feet away. Once there and out of sight again they let out sighs of relief. "Thought we were going to be spotted there for sure." George panted.

"This is getting silly." Fred said peevishly. "Come on."

They had to avoid Santa Peeves and his Dungbomb presents one last time on the way back. This time George stopped and dodged several Dungbombs while grabbing the shield off of a nearby suit of armor. He held it flat and flung it at Peeves like a Frizbee. Peeves ducked and the shield only knocked off his Santa hat and wig before it went clanging away down the halls. Peeves stared after it and started to cackle as they once again heard Filch running to investigate.

Fortunately for them they had used the distraction to escape and were running up the stairs to Gryffindor tower. They could hear Filch cursing Peeves and his Dungbombs as they finally breathlessly ran up to The Fat Lady and gave her the password.

"Sugar cookie!" George exclaimed.

"You certainly were gone long enough." She commented as the portrait swung forward and they tumbled into the common room to find it dark and empty.

"Well, bullocks!" Fred exclaimed. "Everyone went to bed!"

"More for us, Fred." George said brightly as he dropped the case on a table and pulled the corks out of two bottles, handing one over to his brother, who grinned. "Here's to close calls and unexpected things around every corner."

They tapped the bottles together and proceeded to have a very very merry Christmas indeed.


	2. Snow Daze

This is a story I wrote for a Secret Santa Swap. I've always wanted to give Severus and my OC Brie a cute and fun day together, so here they are. If you are not familiar with the character Gabrielle Waters, you can find her in my multi chapter story, Hogwarts' Muggle.

So, there are two ways to look at this story, pick the one you like: 1) This is sometime before ole' Voldy comes back and Brie and Severus don't have to worry about being seen having fun together... for whatever reason. 2) Both Severus and Albus didn't actually die... somehow, and this is after Voldy's defeat. I leave it to you to decide which option feels better to you. Merry Christmas. :D

* * *

Snow Daze

"Brie, no," Severus Snape protested, trying to shake off his Muggle friend, Gabrielle Waters, who was currently pulling on his hand, trying to maneuver him outside into the snow. It was winter break and the castle was all but empty. Only a handful of students and teachers had stayed over the holiday.

Earlier, it had started to snow during the dinner in which only he, Albus, Minerva, and Brie had been in attendance. The remaining students had all been served in their common rooms, negating the need for the House Elves to bother with the house tables in the Great Hall, and for the Professors to have to essentially work on the holiday. It was an idea that had appealed to Severus greatly and he wondered why it wasn't done that way every year.

Now it was several hours and several glasses of wine later and Brie wanted to go out and make a snowman. Severus wanted to go to his rooms and read the new book Albus had given him for Christmas.

oOoOoOo

"Oh come on, Severus," she pleaded, pulling with all her might and not even budging him in the slightest. She cursed her small stature as she switched tactics slightly and stopped pulling, dropping his hand in order to circle around behind him so that she could attempt to push instead. It had about as much effect as the pulling had. "Are you using a sticking charm on your shoes or something?" she asked, frustrated. You shouldn't be this hard to move." She'd pulled Severus here and there before, it wasn't usually this difficult.

oOoOoOo

"You are the size of a pixie, that is why you can't move me," he said smugly, hiding his wand up his sleeve. He really had just used it to cast a non verbal sticking charm on his shoes. Pixie sized or no, she was unnaturally strong and had almost succeeded in pulling him down the hall with her a minute ago. Her strength and stamina still surprised and impressed him from time to time.

oOoOoOo

Brie narrowed her eyes and swooped down to try to unbalance Severus by grabbing one of his legs and pulling it up with her, a technique she'd learned from many hours of Aikido classes, which had been her preferred form of extracurricular sport in high school and on through college. The skills stood her in good stead very often, as her main way of making a living was filming wildlife documentaries around the world, sometimes in dangerous places. A little knowledge of self defense could help solve a whole world of potential problems.

It could also help to tell a Muggle when a wizard was trying to sneak one over on her. "You liar!" she exclaimed when Severus' foot wouldn't lift off the floor. "That should have had you on your back even if you were a two hundred fifty pound linebacker, never mind a six foot tall wizard toothpick. You un-stick yourself right now and come play in the snow with me! It's Christmas snow, which is the best kind of snow."

oOoOoOo

"Fine," he huffed, feigning displeasure. If he really couldn't convince her that staying in and enjoying their Christmas gifts was the better option, he didn't really have a problem with going outside instead, he just enjoyed winding her up. She could be hilarious when riled. He wasn't one for playing in the snow, but Brie was, so he could stand to humor her for awhile. It would make her happy and if there was one person left in the world who he would go out of his way to see smile, it was Brie.

As he fell in step beside her, he glanced sidelong, swallowing a chuckle when he noticed that she was still delighting at the holiday decorations, even after all these years of teaching at the school. He had the feeling that she wouldn't soon tire of the never melting icicles and live fairy lights or the ropes of softly singing holly and the dozens of decorated trees scattered all over. In a way, her wonder over the magic there made him appreciate it all over again as well. It sometimes took him back to his first Christmas at Hogwarts. Even though he'd always known he was a wizard, it wasn't until Hogwarts that he'd been exposed to the full blown splendor of things like holiday decorations or magical fireworks displays.

"Aren't you going to go to your rooms for your coat and hat and things?" he asked.

oOoOoOo

With a grin back over her shoulder at her stalwart friend she said, "I was actually hoping you might maybe perhaps cast a spell or two over what I've already got on so I don't have to climb all those stairs." Her grin widened when he simply raised an eyebrow. She didn't ask often for spells and charms and knew that it usually amused him when she did. She had a feeling it didn't bother him much because she made sure to only ask for small, silly things, as she didn't ever want him to think that she was his friend simply for what he had the capability of doing for her. It was something she'd been careful about since the rocky start of their unlikely friendship. Right away she'd sensed that Severus' old dislike of Muggles had partially stemmed from expecting them all to gawk and demand 'tricks'.

It had taken years for their friendship to grow into what it was that Christmas and during those years there had been a fair few rocky times and misunderstandings, but they'd always made it through.

oOoOoOo

As they reached the front doors, Severus pulled two quills from one of his pockets and transfigured them both into scarves in Slytherin green. He knew a fair few people would object to a Muggle wearing Slytherin colors but those people could all go jump off a broom as far as he was concerned. He'd wasted too much time at the beginning of their acquaintance disliking her simply because she was a Muggle, to worry about what people thought now.

Chuckling at the delight in her eyes as he wound the scarf around her neck, he cast a warming charm over her as well and hoped that she'd never lose that look of marvel whenever she saw him preform even simple spells. Something about it made him feel wonderful inside. It didn't matter to her that he wasn't the most powerful wizard out there and it was a sentiment that was slowly creeping it's way into his own psyche, soothing the raw patches of his youthful beliefs.

There had been a time when the main pursuit in his life had been the gaining and honing of his skills, convinced that it would eventually bring him the power and authority he craved, foolishly hoping it would impress Lily. Even after he and Lily had parted ways in fifth year, he'd still done anything and everything he could to advance himself in the wizarding world, never losing the vague hope that it might have some effect on Lily's opinion of him. Of course, that had backfired horribly on him when he'd realized exactly what he'd gotten himself into when he'd joined the Death Eaters at Lucius' suggestion.

Those thoughts were not thoughts for today though, as they made their way out into the chilly air full of softly falling snowflakes, so he pushed them to the back of his mind. "You're the snowbird," he said, casting warming charms over himself when he felt the frigid breeze sneak up under his robes. "What's on the snow agenda?"

It was Christmas after all. He could stand to give her the present of participation.

oOoOoOo

She grinned again when she heard him ask and realized that he did actually intend to get involved in her snow antics this time. Usually he allowed her to drag him outside, but would stand in the snow like a Grinch, with his arms crossed over his chest, refusing to actually do anything. Delighted by the change in routine, she began to roll up a ball of snow, pushing it this way and that way, watching it get bigger with each rotation as it rolled over the clean white powder. With a shrug, he did the same. She assumed that he figured he was making a section of the snowman she had mentioned earlier while trying to entice him out here in the first place.

With a secret smirk she began to chatter away about various Christmases spent in different places around the world. Back before she'd lost him, she and her husband, Rogan, had spent quite a few holidays out filming in the wild, fulfilling their contract with the production company who produced their documentaries. They'd had a fair few adventures that ranged from hilarious to harrowing and Brie would often rehash them for whoever might ask.

As she had hoped, the tales of her adventures distracted Severus and he didn't notice when she abandoned her large ball of snow and started to amass a small barrage of hand sized snowballs. When she had enough ammo, she continued to spin her nature stories while she piled more snow around the sides and top of her large ball, turning it into a solid snow wall. Hiking herself up onto the wall, so that she was sitting at the top, looking down toward Severus, she finished up her story and called, "Hey, Severus," with a big grin on her face and one of the small snowballs hidden behind her back.

oOoOoOo

"Yes, Brie?" he answered absently, focused on the lump of snow in his hands which he was trying to make the correct size and shape to be a snowman head. He'd finished the middle part while Brie had been chatting away about her exotic Christmas adventures from a time he privately considered her 'past life'. As usual, the tales she told were both gripping and funny in turns and he'd been listening while building, assuming the ball of snow she'd started making would be the base for their snowman. He was distracted, both listening to Brie and also considering some type of spell he could put on the finished product, to add a bit of magic into the mostly Muggle endeavor, hoping to make her gasp outright. While her wondrous looks looks warmed his soul, her larger astonished reactions fed his ego and he was in the mood for a bit of an ego boost.

When he looked up at Brie's questioning tone, he had a split second to notice that her large ball of snow now looked more like a snow block, before he was hit in the shoulder by the smaller snowball she hurled at him. Instinctively he lobbed the snowman head at her as she dove behind her snow wall with a giggle, giving him time to dart behind his own ball of snow, which he immediately began to fortify, using spells to make the work go more quickly. In no time he had himself a taller snow wall than Brie and his own pile of snow ammo.

oOoOoOo

Brie almost called him out for cheating when she saw the bright flashes of spells from behind the large ball of snow, which grew into a mini white castle before her eyes, dwarfing her own, now, pathetic snow mound. As she watched half in wonder and half in a kind of funny outrage, she supposed that her distraction tactics and sneak attack hadn't been completely fair either so she bit her tongue.

Several snowballs flew past her ears as she poked her head up from behind the wall to get a better look at Severus' fort. Ducking back down she grabbed a few of her own and popped up again, dodging another barrage from Severus as she laid siege to the walls of his garrison. The way she saw it, the only chance she had at winning this snow war would be precise and targeted hits, but Severus had built several square holes in his wall and was firing his ammo at her from out of them. It looked hopeless until she noticed that each time he had to bend down to get more snowballs, she could see the side of his face flash by the opening. It took several times popping up, dodging snowballs and lobbing her own for her to be able to hone her newly formed plan for victory.

Once she had her aim dialed in, it was simply a waiting game. Hoping to exhaust his snowball supply, she popped up several times and dodged most of the ones he tossed at her. A few grazed her shoulders and one caught her square in the chest before she saw her opportunity. As she saw him start to bend down for more ammo, she aimed, threw, and hoped as she watched her own snowball sail through the air, into the opening in Severus' wall, to hit him right in the ear. "Gotcha!" she cried happily when his loud curse told her she'd hit her target.

oOoOoOo

"Why you little Muggle imp!" he hollered out the opening in his wall, digging slush out of his ear and shivering when some slid down inside his collar. He was rewarded with a snowball to the face and then one to the back of the head when he turned around to wipe the last one off his cheeks and out of his nostrils.

"I give up!" he cried, moving from in front of the window just in time to avoid two more snowballs fired in rapid succession. He grinned as he heard her whoop in victory, silently waving his wand, hovering the rest of his pile of ammo into the air and over to Brie's snow fort. When he was sure they were all above her, he waved his wand again and let them all fall, laughing outright at her cry of surprise, which quickly turned to a cry of pain that made his stomach clench.

oOoOoOo

"Ow! Severus, I think you broke my nose with one of those!" she cried, hearing him immediately come crunching through the snow toward her. When his concerned face popped around the fort wall, she let fly with her last remaining snowball, hitting him directly in the chest, leaving mini snow crumbs clinging to the black fabric of his robes. His expression went from concern, to understanding, to outrage, to indulgent submission all in a span of a few seconds as she collapsed onto her back, weak with laughter, holding her hands up in a sign of truce.

oOoOoOo

Staring down at her laying in the snow, her breath streaming out in large white clouds, he suddenly realized that he'd just had the best Christmas he'd ever known and it was all thanks to the quirky Muggle jokester in front of him. She'd impatiently banged on his door early that morning, barging in still in her pajamas, with an armful of presents for him. She'd prodded him into going to the Headmaster's office for the pleasant Christmas dinner they had all enjoyed, and she was the reason he was out under the stars, in the softly falling snow, laughing like a loon.

With a contented sigh he slid down to sit beside her while she slowly caught her breath around hiccups and spurts of giggles. "Happy Christmas, Brie," he said, hoping she'd hear everything he was feeling right then in his voice.

oOoOoOo

"Happy Christmas, Severus," she replied, looking up at him from her supine position, pleased that he looked perfectly content right then. It was all she ever wished for for him and she'd been wracking her brain for weeks, trying to figure out how to give that feeling to him for Christmas. She was fairly sure she'd succeeded and felt a wave of her own contentment wash over her. Sitting quietly, they studied the star strewn sky for a few minutes.

"Come on," she finally said, pushing herself back up into a sitting position. "Let's go back inside and see if the House Elves have any of that pie left. Then we can read those books Albus got us as presents."

oOoOoOo

"Sounds perfect," he replied as he pushed himself to his feet, reaching back down and helping Brie up onto hers as well. It really, truly did.


End file.
